Rio Tinto CEO Sam Walsh to retire in July

17th Mar 2016 07:14

(ShareCast News) - Rio Tinto chief executive Sam Walsh will retire from the business on 1 July 2016 and will be succeeded by the chief executive of the copper and coal division Jean-Sébastien Jacques, the company said.To ensure a smooth transition, Jacques will join the board and become deputy chief executive with immediate effect, Rio added.Prior to joining Rio Tinto, Jacquesn worked for more than 15 years across Europe, Southeast Asia, India and the US in a wide range of operational and functional positions in the aluminium, bauxite and steel industries. He served as group strategy director for Tata Steel Group from 2007 to 2011.